Avatar Kuruk
by Bagna the Irate Supervillain
Summary: The story of Avatar Kuruk, from discovering that he is the Avatar to his wife's abduction and his conflicts with Koh the Face-stealer.
1. Chapter 1

Winter

Kuruk glided on the surface of the frigid water on his board, constantly bending the water around him to drive ever faster forward. As he reached out with his senses, he could feel the chunks of ice floating all around him, each one ready to knock him from his board with the slightest contact. Even as his speed increased, Kuruk felt assured that he would be able to avoid the chunks of ice. He chose a path which would take him in the direction of an iceberg which had recently broken up. The chunks of ice became larger and more frequent, but Kuruk maintained his speed, shouting his excitement as the course became more treacherous.

Kuruk banked hard and scraped his board along the edge of a large chunk of ice. As he accelerated away from that piece of ice, more ice appeared in front of him. With no time to turn or waterbend, Kuruk hit the ice head on, shattering his board and getting pitched forward. Acting quickly, he drew the water up towards him into the shape of a board beneath his feet, solidifying the water as he brought it into position. He hit the water with his new ice-board, and surfed on through the icy field.

As he navigated the ice, Kuruk could feel his board breaking apart beneath him, despite his constant efforts to reform the ice under his feet. Kuruk decided that he needed to get out of this ice field quickly and with flair if he was going to salvage his boarding reputation. He reached out with his senses and felt the unfrozen water far beneath him on the bottom of the sea. Using his power, he reached out to the water and began to freeze the water under him. Having increased in size and buoyancy, the water he had frozen suddenly began to surge upward beneath his feet, building speed as he added more ice to the frozen mass. The large mass of ice erupted from the surface under his feet, propelling him through the air and towards the crowd of Northern Water Tribe teenagers who had gathered to watch him show off.

As he went flying towards his peers, Kuruk drew water up towards him, slowing his descent until he gracefully descended towards the crowd. Before he could begin bragging about his latest feat of waterbending, the crowd suddenly dispersed at the arrival of Kabloonak, chief of the Northern Water Tribe.

"Kuruk, the elders of the tribe and I have to talk to you. It is time you learned more about your destiny." Kabloonak's voice was not harsh, but it allowed for no dissent. Kuruk followed reluctantly. Why did he need a destiny when there was so much more fun he could be having?


	2. Chapter 2

Summer

Avatar Kuruk grimaced in frustration under the hot Fire Nation sun as he attempted once more to shoot fire out of his hands. "What's the matter, waterbender?" his teacher, Su-Ten, mocked. "Having trouble doing this?" Su-Ten casually produced a flame in the palm of his hand, then sent it shooting out towards Kuruk

Kuruk immediately forgot his firebending lessons in the face of the oncoming flame. Eager to avoid the fire, he stomped the ground, causing a wall of rock to rise from the ground and harmlessly deflect the fireball. Su-Ten leaped over the rock wall and shot another ball of flame at Kuruk's feet. Kuruk jumped away from the blast, ruining his earthbending stance. His balance lost, Kuruk was easily knocked down by a quick palm-strike from Su-Ten.

"Your unwillingness to face the fire head-on makes you weak," lectured Su-Ten. "If you want to fight a firebender on his terms, it is not enough to deflect or disperse the flame. You must be able to take your opponent's fire and make it work for you."

Su-Ten extended his hand to Kuruk and helped him up.

"If you do not think I can match a firebender, perhaps you should send some more flame my way, and I will show you what I can do with it."

"The ability to bend fire that is already provided does not impress me. A true firebender's flame extends from his spirit. Waterbenders and earthbenders can be separated from their element and defeated, but a firebender's power flows through his blood. It is his very life. Firebenders do not allow the elements around them to control what they can do, but draw unlimited power from their own spirit. Waterbenders like you can only submit to the powers in the elements around them. As long as you think like a waterbender, you will never understand the strength of firebending. Now, I want you to do one-thousand hot squats in sets of ten, and then spend three more hours attempting dragon breath. After that, you are free to do what you like for the rest of the day."

As Kuruk did his hot squats, he thought about his failure to learn firebending, and how he had first learned of his role as the Avatar.

Kabloonak lead Kuruk into the tribe's main hut, where the village elders had assembled. Kabloonak stood in the middle and addressed Kuruk.

"Kuruk, although your waterbending is superb, up until now you have wasted your talents showing off to your peers. However, it is time you faced up to your destiny. You are the Avatar. You have a sacred duty to maintain balance in the world."

Kuruk stopped to absorb this information. For most of his life, he had been arrogant and reckless, believing himself to be better than everyone around him. Now, he was being told with certainty that he had been right all along. "So what you're saying is that I get to travel around the world besting all the world's greatest benders, and will be adored and revered everywhere I go?"

"That is one way of seeing it, although you must not take your obligations lightly. Upon you rests the safety of the entire world. Your life will be fraught with peril, and you will have little time for friends or lovers."

"I can't wait to tell girls that I'm the Avatar! This is going to be amazing! I'm going to go celebrate right now!" Kuruk dashed out of the hut, looking for some friends to share the news.

Thinking about his past, Kuruk thought about how easily he had mastered water and earth, and how he had quickly asserted his dominance over every other bender he had met. Kuruk decided that if he couldn't learn to make fire, the problem couldn't be with his technique, but with his teacher. In order to become a better firebender, he only needed a chance to assert his superiority. While Su-Ten was in the other room making tea, Kuruk quickly ran out the door into the city. He was going to find someone to practice his firebending on.

Kuruk was going to fight an Agni Kai.


	3. Chapter 3

Kuruk went to the marketplace dressed as a Fire Nation citizen, scanning the crowd for someone who looked like a firebender. Kuruk spotted a man who looked like a firebender, and immediately jumped forward to challenge him.

"I challenge you to an Agni Kai!" Kuruk shouted proudly.

"Uh, I was just going to the store," the Fire Nation citizen nervously replied, slowly backing away from the threatening stranger.

"Are you going to accept my challenge, or will you live in shame and cowardice?" Kuruk demanded.

"If it means going home with my groceries intact, I think I'll take cowardice."

"Forget your groceries, coward! I require your assistance! Perform this Agni Kai and any lost groceries shall be repaid to you tenfold!"

The harried grocery-shopper reluctantly set down his bags and walked over to an open area where they could hold an Agni Kai. Kuruk followed him over, positioning himself at the opposite end of the field. The grocer struck a basic firebending stance and declared, "Although I have no idea why you wish to fight, I will meet your challenge with the honor of a soldier of the Fire Nation. I, Lee, accept your challenge!"

Kuruk couldn't really understand what the Fire Nation citizen was saying from the other end of the field, but he looked as though he was sufficiently upset to throw some fire around, and that was all Kuruk really cared about. Even though the fight could be ended almost immediately with some waterbending or earthbending, Kuruk was determined not to use either of those methods. Kuruk assumed the firebending pose he had learned the previous day, and prepared to receive some flame to bend.

Lee began his attack with a series of small fireballs, to test his challenger's defenses. The challenger was able to avoid the fireballs easily. However, instead of simply sidestepping the fireballs, the challenger got alongside them and performed firebending motions, as though he was trying to redirect the fire and failing. Perplexed by his opponent's strange behavior, Lee eased off on his attack.

Although he could feel the energy flowing through the small fireballs, Kuruk couldn't get any of them to bend to his commands. Kuruk remembered what he had heard about how fire was the opposite element of water, and that his usual attempts to "go with the flow" of the element would not be effective. If he was going to succeed, Kuruk was going to need to get more fire directed at him.

"Come on! Surely you can generate more flame than that!" Kuruk taunted.

"I haven't seen you generate any fire yet. Maybe it's your turn to attack."

Kuruk didn't have a good response to that, so he charged over to his opponent and went on the attack with his fists; hopefully physical strikes would yield a fiery comeback. Kuruk moved smoothly from one attack to the next, combining the movements of waterbending with the bits of firebending style he had learned. Kuruk remained just out of reach of his opponent between blows, daring a reprisal with fire. He soon received one.

As the burst of flame flew towards his face, Kuruk stood his ground, determined to redirect the fire like a true firebending master. He felt the fire overwhelm him, singing the hair on his face and forcing him backwards with its overwhelming heat. However, even as the fire threatened to defeat him, Kuruk could feel the energy and the spark of bending he needed to control the flame. Kuruk grabbed onto that spark and began to turn it into actual control over the element. The fire which had been ready to burn his face off began to retreat away from him. Kuruk reached out and started turning the flame into a manageable ball of fire he could hold in his hand. Just as he was about to turn the fire on his opponent, Kuruk was struck by an unexpected blow to the face. Kuruk cursed himself for losing his focus on his opponent. He briefly panicked when he thought that he had lost the ball of fire he created. Kuruk's distraction had caused the flame to die down to a flicker, but it was still there in his hand. However, his moment of panic caused the small flame to flare up into an enormous burst of fire emitting from the palm of his hand. Lee backed off from the sudden flare while Kuruk struggled to bring the fire back under control.

In order to avoid appearing incompetent, Kuruk began juggling the flame from hand to hand while trying to reduce its intensity. Lee, still cautious of the amount of fire being used, kept his distance and shot a couple of fireballs in Kuruk's direction. Gaining confidence in his ability to control the fire, Kuruk intercepted the fireballs and began juggling them as well. Kuruk grew more and more confident, allowing the fire to grow of its own accord as he juggled it around. He barely noticed as the grass began to catch fire around him. As the grassfire picked up, Lee retreated from the battlefield, seeking the safety of the marketplace. Kuruk noticed that his opponent was leaving, and realized that the fire had gone out of control.

Kuruk stopped juggling the fireballs and began trying to put out the fire. However, now that the fire had found fuel of its own, it no longer cared about his efforts to control it. The smoke from the grass-fueled fire overwhelmed him, stinging his eyes and filling his lungs. Kuruk got out his bending water and used it to shield his face. Kuruk then began to earthbend large portions of the ground beneath the grass, flipping the field over piece by piece in order to smother the flame. Despite his efforts, the fire continued to expand beyond his control, beginning to threaten the marketplace.

Suddenly, Su-Ten showed up, running to help contain the fire. He drew the fire away from the grass and towards himself, and then expelled the flame harmlessly into the air. With Su-Ten extinguishing the flame on one end and Kuruk smothering the flame from the other, the fire was quickly brought under control. After the fire was extinguished, the field lay completely destroyed.

Su-Ten walked over to Lee, who was standing silently off to the side. "Congratulations, brave firebender. Due to his need for outside assistance, the Agni Kai has been forfeited to you. You have just defeated the Avatar in battle."

"That's the Avatar? I thought he was just some inexperienced idiot who wanted to show off."

"You were not wrong," Su-Ten replied.

By this point, Kuruk had walked over to the market area. Su-Ten turned to face his student. "Kuruk, through your carelessness and arrogance, you have endangered innocent lives. You will come with me to complete your training, and you will not deviate from my lesson plan again."

"Yes, master," Kuruk replied, bowing humbly and moving to assist Lee with his groceries. Despite the grass-fire, Kuruk couldn't help but feel self-satisfied. He had controlled flame!


	4. Chapter 4

For the next few months, Kuruk did everything under the constant gaze of Su-Ten. From his early morning wake-up calls to his late evening training sessions, Kuruk constantly worked on techniques and exercises. Su-Ten deliberately kept Kuruk from doing actual firebending because he was sure Kuruk lacked the discipline to control it. However, every night when he was no longer training, Kuruk would use the time away from Su-Ten's observation to practice his ability to produce flame.

At first, Kuruk could only make his hands warmer than usual. Eventually, Kuruk could boil water in a cup by holding it and concentrating on heating it for about three hours. Through more weeks of practice, Kuruk could boil the water in less than thirty seconds. Every day, Kuruk would go out and perform the tedious and repetitive training exercises that Su-Ten forced on him, attempting to conceal how tired his lack of sleep was making him.

After he had tired of boiling water, Kuruk gave up on heating his hands and began focusing on channeling his firebending through his breath instead. The first few nights, he was frustrated with his lack of results. Kuruk remembered Su-Ten's instruction on breathing flame when he was starting out. At the time, he hadn't understood why Su-Ten would start with such an advanced technique. Su-Ten had explained that breathing was the source of a firebender's flame, and the sooner Kuruk understood that, the more effective his attempts to generate flame would be. He realized that during his attempts to generate flame, he had never really focused on his breath. After a couple hours of focusing on his breathing, Kuruk surprised himself by generating a small amount of flame, more than he had previously achieved through intense concentration on fire. Encouraged by his success, he continued to practice his breathing. After practicing for a while, Kuruk found that he could consistently breathe small amounts of flame, although he could never hold onto the flame long enough to maintain it. Although Kuruk needed to stop and get some sleep for the next day, he knew that this leap forward would serve him well for the next night's practice.

The next day, Kuruk's training exercises were unusually easy, and instead of keeping him late into the evening, Su-Ten allowed him to go to bed early. It couldn't have been early enough for Kuruk, who immediately resumed his breathing techniques where he had left off the previous night. Now that he could consistently generate small flames, Kuruk changed his focus to increasing the strength of his flame, under the hopes that he could maintain it long enough to manipulate it. With every effort, the flame was a little bit larger and took a little bit longer to go out. When he first managed to keep the flame going for longer than a couple seconds, Kuruk attempted to grab the flame and start bending with it. As soon as he stopped concentrating on his breathing, the flame immediately went out, and he couldn't do anything with the fire. Kuruk abandoned his attempts to bend the fire in order to focus on producing larger flames instead. As the hours passed, Kuruk managed to generate the flame for ten seconds at a time, then twenty, then thirty. At this point, Kuruk needed to stop to get some sleep again, but he knew that he had made progress, and would make more progress the next night.

After many more weeks of physical training during the day and fire breathing at night, Kuruk found that he could sustain fire indefinitely, and even adjust the size and intensity of the fire. Now, he decided it was time to try bending the fire again. Kuruk breathed the fire into his hands, focusing on making it small but intense. He captured the flame in the palm of his hand. For the first time, Kuruk could hold onto the fire he had generated. Remembering what he had done during his Agni Kai, Kuruk began to increase and decrease the amount of fire he held. He then passed the fire from one hand to another, making sure to keep the flame small and under control in order to avoid attracting Su-Ten's attention. Kuruk grew slightly more daring, throwing multiple small balls of flame into the air and then catching them and combining them into one larger ball of flame. Kuruk then took that ball of flame and threw it towards the wall. As the flame threatened to set his room on fire, Kuruk used precise control to make the flame curve around and avoid anything flammable. He carefully extinguished the flame and began to generate even more flame, drawing power from his breath and expelling it from his hands in short bursts. Kuruk was reluctant to admit to himself how much he was depending on the lessons of the past weeks to control his flame. He now attempted a more difficult feat, building up power from his breath and slowly expelling it as an aura of flame. The fire increased to fill every corner of the room. Kuruk remained acutely aware of the location and the intensity of the flame, maintaining it at its current level without harming the walls or ceiling. Kuruk went to sleep, exhausted from his successful efforts.

The next morning, Su-Ten surprised Kuruk by failing to wake him up and force him to do morning exercises, instead allowing him to sleep until mid-morning. Once Kuruk got up, Su-Ten led him to a large stone courtyard. "Avatar Kuruk," said Su-Ten, "It is time you experienced the power and potential of a true firebending master. Show me what you are really capable of."

Kuruk stepped forward and, with a fake look of intense concentration, began to generate a very small amount of fire in his hand.

"No, you idiot," said Su-Ten. "Throughout these past nights, you have devoted yourself to learning the art of firebending with dedication and patience. However, practicing during the night has limited your abilities, as has your lack of sleep. Through your attempts to conceal your efforts, you have learned careful control over your flame, and the discipline to manipulate fire without unintended consequences. Now, under the gaze of Agni, your power will shine like a second sun. Show me what you are _really_ capable of!"

Kuruk's brief anger over being deceived and manipulated quickly vanished in his excitement to practice his firebending in an open courtyard. Kuruk could feel the power of the sun amplifying his firebending ability. He began by shooting off an enormous burst of flame into the sky, forming a large column of flame. Maintaining his first column, Kuruk used his other hand to form another column of flame. He stood beside his two towers of fire, making them ever larger and stretching them higher into the sky. When he felt he couldn't make them any larger, Kuruk lifted the columns off the ground; twisting them and making them spiral around each other in the air. He then dispersed them in a shower of small fireballs.

Kuruk then focused on making his flame as intense as he could. He refined his fire to make it as pure and hot as he could, until blue flames began to shoot out of his hands. Kuruk began shooting blue flames into the air. As the flame lifted up into the air and dissipated, Kuruk started alternating between blue flame and orange flame, carefully adjusting his power from one second to the next and creating an intense two-colored light show.

Having demonstrated the ability to make fire, Kuruk now shifted his attention to his technique. Through physical memories formed by hundreds of hours of repetition, he went through each fire-bending stance and technique he had trained in. Although he had practiced these techniques without fire before, the firebending part came naturally with the physical movements. After going through sets of each technique he had learned, Kuruk stopped and bowed to his sifu.

"Excellent work," said Su-Ten. "You are now prepared to go and master airbending. In your own time, you should go visit the Sun Warrior city. There, you can learn the secrets of firebending from the true masters. For now, it is time for you to seek an airbending master at one of the four air temples."

There was no question which of the four temples Kuruk would be going to. He could barely handle being around one old man for months on end; he certainly wasn't ready to be constantly surrounded by them. Kuruk was going to visit the ladies of the Eastern Air Temple.


	5. Chapter 5

Kuruk arrived at the Eastern Air Temple on the back of a flying bison, guided by a friendly Air Nomad named Kensen. The Eastern Air Temple spread out majestically in front of him, its temple buildings covering the three mountain tops, arced bridges running between them for those who had not yet learned to fly. Kuruk did not intend to use them for very long. The clouds spread out below the temple, obscuring its presence from non-airbenders. Kuruk could see a class of little girls clinging to their gliders as they took their first flying lessons. Some of them were hesitant, while others eagerly leapt into the air, delighting even in their failures as they were picked up by helpful sky bison that flew below them and kept them safe.

Kensen landed his Sky Bison and allowed Kuruk to dismount, then said, "I'm afraid I'll have to leave you here. Good luck in your training, Avatar."

Kuruk thanked Kensen as he left, then turned to greet the nuns who had gathered to see him. The women gathered around him, all clamoring at once to see him demonstrate his Avatar power. Kuruk quieted them in order to speak. "I'm very flattered by your desire to see me perform, but I'm afraid I've come here for the purpose of finding an airbending teacher. Since you all know airbending, maybe you can all help teach me!"

"I don't think that will be necessary," came a calm, commanding voice from the back. "Hello Avatar. I am Sister Jio, the Mother Superior at this temple. I will be responsible for your training. If you will accompany me, I believe we have much to discuss."

Kuruk was reluctant to leave his new fan club, but he knew there was no getting out of talking to Jio. "Don't go anywhere, ladies. I've got official Avatar business to conduct, but I'll be right back."

Kuruk followed Jio into the temple building. "Su-Ten tells me that your skill is extraordinary, even if you don't have discipline to match," said Jio.

"You guys know each other?" said Kuruk. "I really can't get away with anything."

Jio ignored Kuruk's comment and spoke, "Although she grew up in the Western Air Temple, all Air Nomads hold your predecessor Yangchen in extremely high regard. Have you visited her in the Spirit World recently?"

"I haven't been to the Spirit World at all. I've never been good at meditating," said Kuruk.

"I see," said Jio, visibly trying to disguise her disappointment. "Since you're training at a temple now, I think you'll find yourself becoming quite a bit better at meditating. Serving as the bridge between the Spirit World and the real world is a vital part of your job as the Avatar."

"I don't think the Spirit World is terribly likely to effect me much. I'd rather focus on the real world," said Kuruk.

"It's important to focus on both," said Jio, "But for now you should focus on your training."

Over the next couple months, Kuruk trained in airbending and meditation and spent as much time as he could with the young women of the Temple. Airbending came naturally to him, which was a relief after his difficulty with firebending.

Kuruk was practicing his meditation one day when Jio approached him and said, "Well Kuruk, I think your meditation has improved enough for you to contact Yangchen. Now that the autumn equinox has arrived, you should be able to get into the spirit world. Go to the sanctuary and meditate, and Yangchen will speak to you."

Kuruk used his airbending to unlock the entrance to the Air Temple Sanctuary and then sat down to meditate, surrounded by the statues of the past Avatars. Kuruk looked at the statue of Yangchen, and before he even began to meditate he could feel himself being drawn in by his connection to the Spirit World.

As Kuruk entered the Spirit World, he perceived the world around him as a dark forest extending indefinitely in all directions. Kuruk stepped forward hesitantly, unsure if he could move in the Spirit World or not. To his relief, he found that he could walk around normally. Experimenting further, Kuruk attempted to bend some of the elements around him. To his disappointment, none of the four bending styles had any results. Kuruk set off into a nearby cave, feeling that he was headed towards Yangchen.

As soon as he walked through the cave entrance, Kuruk suddenly found himself in a marble chamber much too large to fit in the cave he had entered. He turned and saw that the cave entrance had turned into an elaborately carved wooden door with images of female air nomads and sky bison flying around a series of upside-down temples located on the underside of an overhanging cliff. Kuruk turned to the chamber again and saw Avatar Yangchen sitting in the middle of the hall, illuminated by a mysterious light.

"Greetings, Avatar Kuruk. I have been waiting for you for some time now," said Yangchen.

"Hello, Yangchen. Do you have any messages you'd like me to pass on to the world of the living?" said Kuruk.

"I'm more interested in your progress as the Avatar," said Yangchen. "Your skill is impressive, but I've noticed that you lack interest in anything related to your duties as the Avatar."

"I'm just being practical," Kuruk rationalized. "You did such a good job bringing peace to the world that I don't have any duties to perform."

"The world is enjoying a time of great peace. However, no good thing lasts forever. As Avatar, your duty to the world is eternal vigilance," said Yangchen.

"Just because I'm ready for trouble doesn't mean I'm going to avoid having fun while I wait for it," said Kuruk.

"I hope you are ready," said Yangchen, beginning to fade out. "Trouble will find you whether you are prepared or not."

Kuruk left Yangchen's chamber the way he came in and found himself in the middle of the misty forest again. It was at this point that Kuruk realized that he did not know how to get out of the Spirit World. At first, he attempted to leave by simply concentrating on returning to the physical world. When this did not work, he began to wander in search of some sort of exit. He did not wander far before he found himself in an unfamiliar location. Unlike the forest, this place was barren and rocky in all directions. The only sign of plant life was an extremely large, dead tree sitting on a giant rock, its trunk wide and gnarled. Skeletal branches extended from the tree in all directions, grasping at sunlight that they would never find.

As Kuruk assessed his new surroundings, he suddenly found himself confronted by a powerful and unpleasant smell. He turned towards the source of the smell and saw what appeared to be an enormous centipede crawling towards him. In place of a head, the centipede had what looked like a giant eyelid with an expressionless ceremonial mask serving as a face. The eyelid blinked, and upon reopening the mask had turned into the face of a female air nomad, her calm expression contrasting the horrifying body of the spirit.

A deep voice projected from the centipede. "You should listen to your predecessor, Avatar. Yangchen is not the only one who finds your disinterest in your duty appalling."

"She never said that," Kuruk said defensively.

"Air Nomads have always been far too tactful, too reluctant to display their feelings. You wouldn't believe what I had to do to get the one whose face I'm currently wearing to open up to me. You've never had any trouble conveying your feelings, have you Kuruk?" said the spirit.

Kuruk was angered by the spirit's tone towards him, but he had a feeling that it would be unwise to let his anger show. "I don't want to bother you any further. I'm just trying to get back to the physical world."

"You're already trying to leave? I haven't even introduced myself. Humans call me the face-stealer, but here in the Spirit World I am known as Koh. You don't need to introduce yourself. Every spirit knows about Kuruk, the Avatar who neglects his duties and brings dishonor to his reincarnated spirit," said Koh.

At this comment, Kuruk no longer bothered to conceal his anger. "You should know better than to provoke the Avatar, spirit," said Kuruk.

Before Kuruk could take any action, Koh darted towards him; his many legs propelling him faster than the eye could follow. Koh brought his face inches away from Kuruk's. The eyelid blinked again and revealed a fearsome blue mask with fangs. "Be careful what tone you take with me, boy," said Koh. "The Avatar Spirit is not the oldest spirit, nor is it the most powerful. It is only through my mercy that you still have eyes to look at me or a mouth to speak. If you do not learn to be more mindful, I will rob you of something far more valuable than your face. For now, you can return to the physical realm. Be more mindful of your duty, Avatar."

At that, Kuruk felt himself returning to the physical world. He emerged in the chamber of past Avatars. Kuruk walked out and found Jio standing outside. "Did you speak to Yangchen?" Jio asked.

"I sure did," replied Kuruk. "She said I'm doing a great job, and I should go master the Avatar State next."

"I see," Jio said skeptically. "Your airbending has advanced considerably. All you need to do is prove your mastery by contributing a new technique to the airbending style."

"I already have a new technique," Kuruk said enthusiastically, already recovering from the shock of encountering Koh. "You should have the ladies meet me in the courtyard so I can demonstrate."

"Very well," said Jio. "We will all look forward to seeing what you have to demonstrate."

A couple hours later, the women of the temple were assembled in the courtyard. Kuruk stood in front of the admiring crowd and addressed them. "Watch this!" Kuruk shouted.

Kuruk focused on a nearby lotus pond. He summoned a tornado above the pond and carefully adjusted the tornado's power so that it would pick up the lotus flowers without picking up the water. The tornado picked up more and more flowers, creating an impressive display. "Bet you girls have never seen a lotus tornado before!" said Kuruk.

All the women in attendance were highly impressed except for Jio, who crossed her arms and said, "I see you've found a new way to ruin my lotus pond. Your control over the tornado is impressive, but it's hardly a new technique."

"Then watch this!" said Kuruk. He grabbed his glider and threw it out ahead of him. Then he jumped into the air after the glider, carefully positioning himself over it. As the glider fell Kuruk gracefully landed feet-first on top of it. Kuruk began to ride the glider like a surfboard, carefully maintaining his balance while steering with gusts of wind. He got bolder as he soared along, doing spirals through the air and looping back on his path. Kuruk touched down in the courtyard, dramatically folding up his glider as he landed.

"Very good, Kuruk," said Jio. "I'm glad that your time surfing in the Water Tribe has been put to good use. I hope that in addition to knowledge of airbending you have also acquired a new appreciation for the importance of the spiritual aspect of life."

"I have," said Kuruk. "Now I'm ready to put that spirituality to use and go master the Avatar State. I also need to get back to the Water Tribe in time for the great hunt."

Kuruk departed the Air Temple, now able to fly away under his own power.


	6. Chapter 6

When Kuruk arrived at the Northern Water Tribe, he found that a crowd had already gathered to see him. Instead of waiting for the boat to reach the group, Kuruk jumped off the side and unfurled his glider in midair. Kuruk flew over to the group with a great deal of showing off, savoring the applause each of his elaborate stunts inspired. Once Kuruk touched down, Chief Kabloonak emerged from the crowd and spoke, "Welcome back, Avatar. I take it from your dramatic entrance that you have mastered all four elements."

"I certainly have," said Kuruk. "Now, I'm ready to master the hunting season as well."

Later that afternoon, Kuruk was bragging about his bending prowess to a group of his childhood friends. "Mastering the elements came naturally to me," said Kuruk. "Being the Avatar just makes you that much better than everyone else."

"You think you're so great," said someone Kuruk didn't recognize, "But you're only special because you're the only one who can control all the elements."

"You think bending is the only thing that makes me special? Since you said that, I'll go on a solo hunt without using any of my bending powers." At this, conversation broke out among the people gathered. "Also," said Kuruk, motioning everyone to be silent. "I'm going to find a polar bear and kill it."

This statement caused a cacophony of voices to erupt. "A polar bear? Polar bears haven't been seen on the hunt in years. Maybe you should look for a bear-mole instead." "Or a bear-seal, the most conflicted animal known to man." "How will you even find a polar bear if you don't use bending?"

Kuruk motioned everyone to be silent once more. Kuruk said, "Impossible tasks are what Avatars do best. We are driven to achieve what nobody else can accomplish. This, not our bending abilities, is what makes the Avatar better than everyone else." With the last sentence, Kuruk looked pointedly at the person who had spoken against him earlier. Despite his outward bravado, Kuruk thought to himself nervously that he might have volunteered for a task which would actually prove to be impossible.


	7. Chapter 7

Kuruk set across the icy expanse, deeply regretting his promise not to use his bending abilities in his hunting. He thought of how much easier it would be to find game while flying over the landscape on his glider, or how much warmer he would be if he could use firebending. Kuruk chastised himself for considering these possibilities, since they only served to reinforce the point his detractor had made about his dependence on bending. Kuruk then thought that putting himself in life-threatening situations because of the insults of someone he didn't know was not a very good habit. However, now that he had made his promise, he was going to follow through on it as best he could. Despite his earlier self-confidence, Kuruk was acutely aware that he had yet to see any sign of a polar bear, or any other animal that was worth carrying back.

The snow beside him suddenly erupted into claws and teeth attached to a mass of white fur, knocking Kuruk to the ground and separating him from his spear. The polar bear which had been sneaking up on him loomed over Kuruk. Kuruk quickly brought his machete swinging up at the polar bear, causing the bear to back off slightly but failing to seriously hurt it. Kuruk had just begun scrambling away when the bear brought down its giant paw, violently slamming Kuruk back to the ground. Kuruk realized that he had only survived this long because the bear did not see him as a threat, and had decided to play with him before killing him. Kuruk took advantage of this, inching towards his spear. The bear saw that its new toy was headed one direction, and quickly cut Kuruk off from retrieving his spear. Kuruk anticipated another paw swipe, and rolled out of the way before he could be hit again. Kuruk knew that he was fighting for his life, but his pride prevented him from using using bending against the bear. It would be a simple matter to fly into the air and create a torrent of icy spears, but he felt that doing so would be as good as admitting that he was useless without his powers. With the bear now positioned between him and his spear, Kuruk clutched his machete tightly and prepared for the next attack.

The bear charged Kuruk, moving with astonishing speed for an animal its size. The bear again stopped short of a killing blow, but Kuruk was still violently knocked down, his machete knocked out of his hand. Kuruk hit his head painfully on the hard ice. He struggled to focus through the pain, but before he could take action the bear was already on top of him. Kuruk could feel the bear's hot breath on his face as he struggled uselessly to get away. Kuruk thought about his surroundings, looking for a last-ditch effort he could make before he resorted to using his bending powers. Kuruk realized that there was a pond about twenty yards away from where he was fighting for his life, and that this meant that the ice was thin in this spot. Kuruk saw that his machete had fallen into the ice blade first, causing a small crack to form around it. Kuruk managed to reposition himself so that his feet were right next to the fallen machete, and proceeded to kick down as hard as he could, driving the machete down into the water beneath the ice, and causing the crack to widen enough that the bear's hind legs fell into the water. This distraction proved adequate for Kuruk to get up. Kuruk ran toward his spear at a dead sprint, hoping to get to it before the bear could knock him down again. However, the bear's temporary distraction did not last, and the bear quickly took after its fleeing prey, moving almost three times faster than Kuruk could run. Right as Kuruk reached his spear, the bear overtook him, slamming into him once again. As he went down, Kuruk clung to his spear and spun around to face the bear. The bear advanced on him again, but this time Kuruk responded with a strong thrust of his spear.

For the first time, Kuruk had managed to seriously hurt the bear. However, now the bear stopped seeing Kuruk as an amusement and decided it was time to finish its prey. This time, Kuruk was ready. He lunged at the bear and drove the spear in as hard as he could. Kuruk held on as the bear tried to shake him loose, determined to do as much damage as possible. The spear broke in half, sending Kuruk flying backwards. Kuruk tried to get up, but felt too faint to react quickly. The bear loomed over Kuruk, seconds away from finishing him off.

Suddenly, Kuruk felt power surging through him like never before. A protective sphere of water formed between him and the polar bear, and his eyes glowed with pure white energy. All at once Kuruk could feel all the elements around him with a clarity he had never experienced. Kuruk began to hover in the air, geysers of water erupting around him. Confronted with such power, the polar bear immediately fled, leaving a trail of blood from its mortal spear wound. Kuruk spent a while simply appreciating his newfound power until he returned to normal, his feet returning to the ground and his eyes ceasing to glow.

After the joy of obtaining a new ability had passed, Kuruk felt ashamed that he had needed his Avatar-power to save himself from the polar bear after all. However, it occurred to him that even before he had gone into Avatar state, he had already mortally wounded the bear. Despite the beating he had taken, Kuruk set off after the injured bear, its blood serving as a clear trail in the snow.

Kuruk returned to the tribe just as the hunters were returning, towing the polar bear behind him as he entered the city. At the post-hunt feast, everyone gathered around while Kuruk described his hunt in detail. Kuruk wanted to brag, but his shame at using his Avatar powers caused him to tell the story without embellishment or boasting. To Kuruk's surprise, the people of the tribe became more impressed when he told them about going into the Avatar State.

After the feast, Kuruk was approached by the man who had questioned his abilities earlier. "It appears as though I should apologize for doubting you, Avatar," he said.

"No," said Kuruk. "I need to apologize. It turned out that I did need bending to survive out there."

"You brought down a polar bear after it had ambushed you without using bending. Most people would have died a lot sooner than you did. I never would have thought you were stubborn enough to risk your life over a silly boast."

"Apparently you misjudged me," said Kuruk. "Silly boasts are my life's purpose."

"You might be arrogant, but at least you have integrity about it. I'm Kumo. I'm from the Southern Water Tribe."

"That explains why I didn't recognize you," said Kuruk. "I guess I'll find out if everyone in the Southern Water Tribe is as much of a jerk as you are at the next New Moon Celebration."

"I'm not going to make it to this year's New Moon Celebration," Kumo replied. "You should tell my sister Ummi that I said 'Hi.'"

"Sounds good," said Kuruk. "Do people in the Southern Water Tribe know how to surf?"

"You're about to find out," said Kumo, as he and Kuruk grabbed surfboards and joined the other tribes-people in the post-hunt festivities.


	8. Chapter 8

Kuruk arrived in the Southern Water Tribe for the New Moon Celebration, proudly wearing his polar bear headgear. The headgear gathered numerous comments from the people Kuruk met, and Kuruk happily repeated the story of how he had killed the polar bear to anyone who talked to him. By the time the opening ceremony took place, nearly everyone present had heard the story, either from Kuruk himself or by word of mouth. As the Avatar, Kuruk took a seat between the chief of the Northern Tribe and the Chief of the Southern Tribe. Before the ceremony began, a group of Air Nomads was scheduled to perform flying stunts, while fire jugglers performed tricks on the ground. Kuruk had arranged to perform alongside both groups months in advance, even though nobody in the audience knew that the Avatar was going to put on a show. Kuruk loved showing off in front of large groups of people, and this was the largest crowd he'd ever had watching him.

The performance started off with the Air Nomads flying in formation while the fire jugglers did some small feats of firebending. The people in the crowd who had never seen firebending or airbending before were already applauding and cheering, not realizing that the show hadn't truly begun yet. The airbenders began flying in low and getting dangerously close to the bursts of flames. The painstaking rehearsals allowed the airbenders to weave in between the increasingly large arcs of flame that the fire jugglers were shooting back and forth.

The firebenders stopped shooting arcs of fire and then joined their flames together to create a fire larger than anything they had created up to that point. At first, the very structures around them seemed to melt from the heat of the flame. Then, it became clear that was no illusion, and the structures truly were melting. The flame began to take on a more definite shape until it began to resemble a giant egg made out of fire. From the egg a dragon made out of fire emerged fully formed and roared at the assembled crowd. An orange flame tongue shot out from a red flame mouth. The dragon turned towards the Air Nomads, as though becoming aware of them for the first time. The dragon roared flame and began pursuit of the airbenders. The airbenders scattered before the oncoming dragon. The dragon pursued the scattered Air Nomads throughout the assembly area. Focused on the dragon, the audience failed to notice that Kuruk was no longer at his seat.

Suddenly, Kuruk appeared above the spectacle. His eyes briefly flashed white, and then he created a sphere of air around himself. The airbenders flew into position around him, each creating smaller spheres of air. Kuruk and the other airbenders combined their air-spheres into a single protective sphere around all of them, Kuruk subtly reinforcing the bubble with water. The sphere flew directly into the dragon's mouth. Kuruk silently hoped that the bubble would hold long enough to prevent him and the Air Nomads from getting cooked. The dragon exploded from inside from a burst of air, and the water Kuruk had been putting in the bubble turned to vapor and formed into the shape of a giant koi fish. Kuruk worked to freeze the vapor before it could lose the shape of the fish. The crowd burst into applause as a giant ice sculpture of a koi fish appeared above them. Kuruk created a strong breeze which lifted him and the leaders of the fire juggler and Air Nomad troupes to the top of the koi fish.

The fire juggler spoke first. "Although we are of different nations, the four nations stand together, in harmony!"

"The Avatar brings balance between the nations," declared the Air Nomad. "Air, Water, Earth and Fire will be united as long as the Avatar is here!"

Everyone looked at Kuruk, clearly expecting him to say something. For once, Kuruk found himself at a loss for words. "Thanks everyone, I'll do my best!" shouted Kuruk.

With that, the chiefs of the two tribes began the opening ceremony, clearly upset that they had been upstaged.

After the ceremony, Kuruk mingled with the crowd. Amid the conversations, Kuruk overheard some people talking about his performance and listened in.

"I think it was in poor taste," a young woman's voice said. "First they bring in firebenders and airbenders, then the whole thing becomes about the Avatar. Last year's show might have been less impressive, but at least it stuck to the theme of the event."

"I liked it," another woman replied, "After all; the Avatar finishing his training was the big news of the year. Since he's hardly visited the Southern Water Tribe, we'd all forget what he looked like if he didn't engage in the occasional excessive display of showmanship."

Kuruk turned to look at the two who'd been talking, and was astonished to discover that the second one was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He stood and stared foolishly until the two of them vanished into the crowd. Kuruk promptly leapt into action to pursue the pair. However, before he could go he was intercepted by the Southern Water Tribe chief.

"Avatar, even though everyone appreciated your performance, we were hoping you could do something about that statue. It's too big for us to move without damaging it, but we don't want to upset such a valuable piece of the Avatar's artwork," said the chief.

Kuruk hastily replied, "Just move it, I'll repair it later," and immediately ran off to find the women. However, he had no idea where they'd gone, and was unable to relocate them in the crowd.

Later that evening, Kuruk was walking home when he saw the woman he'd noticed earlier walking alone. If anything, she was even more beautiful than he had realized during the crowded festivities. Kuruk caught up to her and for the second time that day he couldn't think of anything to say. "Did you like my show?" he asked, regretting the words as he spoke them.

She laughed. "I'm glad your bending is better than your public speaking, Avatar," she said.

"You can call me Kuruk. Bending's not all I'm good at," Kuruk replied. "Have I told you about how I killed this polar bear I'm wearing?"

"My brother told me all about that," she replied. "He says he's the one who put you up to it. I'm just surprised you were stupid enough to go through with it."

Kuruk cursed to himself. What were the odds that she would be related to Kumo? Kuruk noticed that she was leaving without him.

"Hey, you must be Ummi. Kumo told me all about you," Kuruk said as he caught up to her. "Is acting like a jerk to the Avatar a family tradition for you?"

Ummi laughed. "It's not much, but it's a legacy," she responded. "Look, I have to get home now, but I enjoyed talking to you. Maybe we should spend more time together during the celebration."

"Sounds good to me," said Kuruk. "I'll see you tomorrow." Kuruk was glad that some good had come out of attending the New Moon Celebration after all.


End file.
